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Indoor cats

First let me say I'm not being antagonistic, I'm just interested in the
(apparent) culture difference between the US & the UK as regards our
feline friends.

With regard to letting cats out: All the cats I know go outside, they
(usually) learn their way back home from their local neighbourhood,
they don't go too far but suss out gardens, wildlife, other cats and
people, and hopefully realise that traffic isn't for playing with.
There's not too many birds in London and no-one seems to care about the
pigeon population anyway. Some get lost, some get hit by traffic (mine
for example isn't allowed out the front to the road, only the back
garden where he doesn't seem to want to climb the fence to escape from
but if he did I'd let him).

It seems natural for a cat to want to venture outside, and to me it's
cruel to keep them inside (unless they're not interested).

It seems that in the US people are much more likely to force cats to
stay indoors, or take them out on a leash (something I've NEVER heard
of over here and to be honest I think people would laugh over here if
they saw a cat on a lead, but fair play for succeeding in training a
cat to do it), or build these enclosure thingies for them, to protect
the wildlife, also I've never seen one over here.

It's interesting, do you think it's a cultural thing? How long have
people in the US been doing these things? Perhaps it's not the general
population, just people in cat groups As I say, I wasn't saying
that either way is right, it's just interesting how people do things
differently.

wrote in message
oups.com...
First let me say I'm not being antagonistic, I'm just interested in the
(apparent) culture difference between the US & the UK as regards our
feline friends.

With regard to letting cats out: All the cats I know go outside, they
(usually) learn their way back home from their local neighbourhood,
they don't go too far but suss out gardens, wildlife, other cats and
people, and hopefully realise that traffic isn't for playing with.
There's not too many birds in London and no-one seems to care about the
pigeon population anyway. Some get lost, some get hit by traffic (mine
for example isn't allowed out the front to the road, only the back
garden where he doesn't seem to want to climb the fence to escape from
but if he did I'd let him).

It seems natural for a cat to want to venture outside, and to me it's
cruel to keep them inside (unless they're not interested).

It seems that in the US people are much more likely to force cats to
stay indoors, or take them out on a leash (something I've NEVER heard
of over here and to be honest I think people would laugh over here if
they saw a cat on a lead, but fair play for succeeding in training a
cat to do it), or build these enclosure thingies for them, to protect
the wildlife, also I've never seen one over here.

It's interesting, do you think it's a cultural thing? How long have
people in the US been doing these things? Perhaps it's not the general
population, just people in cat groups As I say, I wasn't saying
that either way is right, it's just interesting how people do things
differently.

Marcia
Lord Otis's slave and minder

It just isn't the same in the USA as it is here. Yes, there is a huge
cultural difference, like declawing being offered at the same time as
speutering presumably because of an assumption that most cats will stay
inside and furniture is king..
BUT. They have the most awful predators there. Cat-eating ones, which,
apart from the renegade fox, we don't have here.
Mountain lions, coyotes, bears are just waiting to snap up your cat. And
big bad traffic like we have never experienced.
At least I think this is the reason that I've learned from this group why
cats are mainly kept inside in the USA. Yes?
Or is it really just cultural? and some of it not necessary, because this
made me think hard.

wrote in message
oups.com...
First let me say I'm not being antagonistic, I'm just interested in the
(apparent) culture difference between the US & the UK as regards our
feline friends.

With regard to letting cats out: All the cats I know go outside, they
(usually) learn their way back home from their local neighbourhood,
they don't go too far but suss out gardens, wildlife, other cats and
people, and hopefully realise that traffic isn't for playing with.
There's not too many birds in London and no-one seems to care about the
pigeon population anyway. Some get lost, some get hit by traffic (mine
for example isn't allowed out the front to the road, only the back
garden where he doesn't seem to want to climb the fence to escape from
but if he did I'd let him).

It seems natural for a cat to want to venture outside, and to me it's
cruel to keep them inside (unless they're not interested).

It seems that in the US people are much more likely to force cats to
stay indoors, or take them out on a leash (something I've NEVER heard
of over here and to be honest I think people would laugh over here if
they saw a cat on a lead, but fair play for succeeding in training a
cat to do it), or build these enclosure thingies for them, to protect
the wildlife, also I've never seen one over here.

It's interesting, do you think it's a cultural thing? How long have
people in the US been doing these things? Perhaps it's not the general
population, just people in cat groups As I say, I wasn't saying
that either way is right, it's just interesting how people do things
differently.

Marcia
Lord Otis's slave and minder

It just isn't the same in the USA as it is here. Yes, there is a huge
cultural difference, like declawing being offered at the same time as
speutering presumably because of an assumption that most cats will stay
inside and furniture is king..
BUT. They have the most awful predators there. Cat-eating ones, which,
apart from the renegade fox, we don't have here.
Mountain lions, coyotes, bears are just waiting to snap up your cat. And
big bad traffic like we have never experienced.
At least I think this is the reason that I've learned from this group why
cats are mainly kept inside in the USA. Yes?
Or is it really just cultural? and some of it not necessary, because this
made me think hard.

Tweed

I don't want my cats outside because cars don't stop for them, we have
raccoons (rabid), possums (rabid), rats (rabid) not to mention the fleas,
ear mites, feline leukemia, feline aids.........why WOULD you let your cat
out? Seriously? Do you like paying for vet visits? My female cat, Chloe
is very happy to be where she is; she's SUCH the sweetheart, my male cat is
a devil in cat's clothing. I'd love to let him out just to get the dickens
out of him, but at what cost? You can't have an indoor/outdoor cat without
infesting your house with fleas, mites and ticks or whatever. I just don't
see the point.

Christina Websell wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
First let me say I'm not being antagonistic, I'm just interested in the
(apparent) culture difference between the US & the UK as regards our
feline friends.

With regard to letting cats out: All the cats I know go outside, they
(usually) learn their way back home from their local neighbourhood,
they don't go too far but suss out gardens, wildlife, other cats and
people, and hopefully realise that traffic isn't for playing with.
There's not too many birds in London and no-one seems to care about the
pigeon population anyway. Some get lost, some get hit by traffic (mine
for example isn't allowed out the front to the road, only the back
garden where he doesn't seem to want to climb the fence to escape from
but if he did I'd let him).

It seems natural for a cat to want to venture outside, and to me it's
cruel to keep them inside (unless they're not interested).

It seems that in the US people are much more likely to force cats to
stay indoors, or take them out on a leash (something I've NEVER heard
of over here and to be honest I think people would laugh over here if
they saw a cat on a lead, but fair play for succeeding in training a
cat to do it), or build these enclosure thingies for them, to protect
the wildlife, also I've never seen one over here.

It's interesting, do you think it's a cultural thing? How long have
people in the US been doing these things? Perhaps it's not the general
population, just people in cat groups As I say, I wasn't saying
that either way is right, it's just interesting how people do things
differently.

Marcia
Lord Otis's slave and minder

It just isn't the same in the USA as it is here. Yes, there is a huge
cultural difference, like declawing being offered at the same time as
speutering presumably because of an assumption that most cats will stay
inside and furniture is king..
BUT. They have the most awful predators there. Cat-eating ones, which,
apart from the renegade fox, we don't have here.
Mountain lions, coyotes, bears are just waiting to snap up your cat. And
big bad traffic like we have never experienced.
At least I think this is the reason that I've learned from this group why
cats are mainly kept inside in the USA. Yes?
Or is it really just cultural? and some of it not necessary, because this
made me think hard.

Tweed

Piggy-backing on Tweed (lightly, dear, wouldn't want to hurt you):

Another thing, at least in my area... I've seen (and reported) people
who swerve their vehicle in order TO hit a cat, I've seen them drive
onto people's lawns (or sidewalks, or the other side of the road) in
order to run over a cat. Then we've got the ones (in my
neighbo(u)rhood) who enjoy poisoning animals (they've been reported as
well) or shooting them (not just cats).

Where I live the predators are as Tweed listed, then there are the
feral dogs, who do not know how to "kill" correctly, and that is the
worst thing to find (they don't do a kill bite at the throat or spine -
they just rip that animal apart while it's still fighting) and/or hear.
I've seen this, and gotten bitten trying to stop an attack on a little
kid (I managed, baseball bats are wonderful things) with several other
people.

Some of the predators here aren't just interested in cats, they like to
get dogs, ponies, and children too. One is only allowed to kill a
predator if it's attacking a child (or adult), and even then one gets
to deal with fines and punishment for killing "protected" species
(punishment seems to be community service in the few cases I know
about).

Smokie Darling (Annie) - all of my masters and mistresses now prefer
the "great" indoors, so long as they can look outside.

wrote
It seems that in the US people are much more likely to force cats to
stay indoors, or take them out on a leash (something I've NEVER heard
of over here and to be honest I think people would laugh over here if
they saw a cat on a lead, but fair play for succeeding in training a
cat to do it), or build these enclosure thingies for them, to protect
the wildlife, also I've never seen one over here.

I'm in quiet rural Cornwall (UK). Having lost my beloved Kensey to
beheading by a farm implement towed behind a tractor (so much wider than
a car so could catch him waiting in the hedgerow) on the quietest of
country lanes, despite his 8 years of traffic experience including the
occasional very near miss/brush, I swore "never again". Bandit, whom I
got from CP aged around 2 and was experienced in the "out" isn't very
confident and lurks within yards of the house, so moves freely during
the day. Pericles (RB from the FIP virus), Snowball and soon Claudius
was/is/will be harness & flexilead trained and did/does/will go
"walkies" around the garden and even the village as & when they want.
Big red Pericles was a talking point in our community as he led me for
miles around the local footpaths etc.

With our local keen gardeners all being hostile to cats (digging &
pooping) & using lethal slug pellets etc. it isn't only traffic & foxes
that can kill, even in the most peaceful rural area.

So I've adopted the safety-first American approach. Nearly everyone I
talk to knows _someone_ who leash-walks a cat, esp. in towns etc. so it
seems to be getting more common.

If I could resolve border issues with my neighbours I'd try to instal a
cat-proof fence around the whole (small) back garden, but with dividing
lines being theirs & consisting of sheds etc. it's practically
impossible. My "boys" thus get a quieter life than they might like
ideally, but certainly a longer one.

I've met many cats outside in Virginia Water, your cousin's definately
in the minority. Of course all the large preditors were killed off by
humans in the UK, hundreds of years ago, if they were still arround the
situation may be different.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk